At the corner of Delaware and Vermont Streets in downtown Indianapolis, Roberts Park United Methodist Church has gathered the city's first Methodist congregation since 1821 and held continuous worship in its current Romanesque Revival sanctuary since 1876. The congregation is one of the oldest continuously meeting Methodist bodies in Indiana and serves today as the home church of Indianapolis Mayor Joe Hogsett. Its downtown footprint includes the Soup's On meal ministry, a weekday preschool called Shalom Daycare, four recovery meetings each week, a chancel choir backed by a Skinner pipe organ, a long-running book club, a yarn and craft circle, a Wednesday lunch-and-discussion gathering called Food for Thought, and an open communion table to which everyone is welcomed.
A Sanctuary Marking a Hundred and Fifty Years
Roberts Park traces its origins to 1821, when Indianapolis's first Methodist congregation gathered in a log structure on Maryland Street. By 1842 the denomination had grown enough to split, and the eastern body - then called Roberts Chapel in honor of Bishop Robert R. Roberts, the first Methodist bishop to live in Indiana - moved to Pennsylvania and Market Streets. The present building, renamed Roberts Park for the park-like ground it once occupied, was completed in 1876 and was placed on the National Register of Historic Places in 1982.
The architecture is Romanesque Revival. The sanctuary was built without interior support columns despite a width of 62 feet and a height of 34 feet, and is ringed by roughly 108 stained-glass windows across three floors, including rose windows above the Vermont Street entry. Twin black walnut staircases with turned newel posts climb from Fellowship Hall to the sanctuary floor and on up to galleries that wrap three sides of the room; the wood was reportedly milled from walnut trees cleared from the original church grounds. Stenciling that once adorned the sanctuary walls and ceiling was painted over after 1876 and restored in 1998.
The Skinner organ installed in 1915 and upgraded in 1973 and 2011 has three manuals and 2,175 pipes. A complementary 1927 addition added office space, a stage, and recreation rooms. The smaller original chapel on the first floor seats about fifty for more intimate gatherings and has its own four-rank Wilhelm cabinet pipe organ.
The 2026 anniversary year of the sanctuary was marked on the weekend of September 19 and 20, with guided tours, two pipe organ recitals, ministry-team displays in Fellowship Hall, a community meal prepared and served by Southport United Methodist Church outdoors, and a proclamation from Indianapolis Mayor Joe Hogsett read during Sunday worship. Roberts Park is the mayor's home church.
Sunday Mornings at 10:30
Sunday worship begins at 10:30 a.m. and is offered in person, on Facebook Live, and on the church's YouTube channel. The service follows a classic Methodist shape. Hymns, scripture readings, choral singing, a sermon, and pipe organ music form the backbone of the hour, with an easy-to-follow printed bulletin guiding worshipers through the order. Pastors preach with contemporary themes rooted in biblical texts, and a coffee hour with lemonade, water, and treats follows in the gathering areas downstairs.
Communion is observed on the first Sunday of each month. The congregation practices an open table. Everyone, regardless of age, baptism, or church membership, is invited to commune. The sacrament is celebrated by intinction, dipping bread into a common cup of grape juice, with pre-packaged elements available for those who prefer them.
Children are welcome throughout the service. After the opening hymn, children are invited to leave the sanctuary for Worship & Wonder, a structured children's program held in the building during the remainder of the service. Parents may accompany younger children if they wish. A nursery is available for the youngest children.
Soup's On: A Sunday Meal That Became a Cornerstone
Soup's On began in 1999 when Rosie Wenzlaff, a member of Roberts Park, noticed unhoused neighbors near the church going hungry on Sundays because nearby shelters did not serve a noon meal. She organized a weekly Sunday sit-down lunch that has continued every week since.
Today Soup's On runs from noon to 1 p.m. every Sunday in Fellowship Hall. Each week roughly 125 to 150 guests are served a hot meal that might be a hearty casserole, fried chicken with mashed potatoes and green beans, or another protein-rich plate, often with a second portion to go and a cold sack lunch with water, fruit, and a snack. A wide network of partner congregations and community groups rotates through the kitchen to prepare and serve, and the program is sustained by volunteers, financial gifts, and participation in the food rescue work of Second Helpings.
Soup's On looks after more than appetites. Bus passes are distributed with the help of the IndyGo Foundation. Socks, hygiene items, gloves, and coats are kept in a pantry for guests who need them. In December, filled backpacks assembled with a Lilly Endowment Holiday Assistance Grant go out to guests. Dignity Kits and feminine hygiene kits supplied by Midwest Mission and the United Methodist Committee on Relief (UMCOR) are distributed through the pantry after each Sunday meal. A partnership with the IU School of Medicine's Street Medicine team now brings medical students into the lunch hall to answer guests' health questions.
A Wednesday Meal to Go
In October 2025, Roberts Park expanded Soup's On to include a Wednesday evening takeout meal. From 6 to 7 p.m. each Wednesday, volunteers distribute warm meals at the Delaware Street entrance, with additional meals delivered directly to nearby encampments. The Wednesday program began with a $7,500 grant from the Efroymson Family Fund through the Central Indiana Community Foundation and a $10,000 gift from Carmel United Methodist Church. Across its first three months, the Wednesday meal reached an estimated 66 to 75 percent more neighbors than the Sunday program alone, with most of those meals going to people in camps who could not easily travel to the church.
The 2024 Point in Time Count reported 1,701 people experiencing homelessness in Indianapolis, a 5 percent increase over 2023. Of the guests who come through the doors of Soup's On each week, about 70 percent are unhoused and unemployed, 10 percent have jobs and homes but remain food insecure, 5 percent work but lack housing, and 15 percent have homes but no jobs.
Shalom Daycare
Shalom Daycare is a weekday ministry of Roberts Park, open from 7:30 a.m. to 5:30 p.m. for newborns, infants, and preschoolers. Founded in the 1990s, the program is registered with the State of Indiana and welcomes children of any race, gender, economic background, or religion. Tuition support is available through an online giving portal.
The daycare's stated philosophy centers on the belief that every child deserves capable and caring adults who serve as positive role models, that play is vital to healthy physical, social, and cognitive development, and that teachers carefully guide children from one developmental level to the next. Specific goals include encouraging cooperation and sharing, building motor skills, fostering healthy routines, supporting a positive self-concept, sparking curiosity, promoting cognitive growth, honoring each child's faith and culture, and helping children communicate feelings in acceptable ways.
Children whose families are interested in the daycare can contact Director Lisa Cooper-Ankney at 317-635-3397 or shalom.daycare@robertsparkumc.org.
Music That Has Echoed for a Century
The Chancel Choir rehearses on Thursday nights from 7 to 8:30 p.m. and sings regularly at Sunday worship, leading anthems and supporting the congregation's hymn singing. Music Director Dr. Shederick Whipple, a tenor who also serves as Senior Development Officer and Assistant Chorus Director for the Indianapolis Opera, directs the ensemble and is the force behind collaborative performances with neighboring congregations. In March 2026, for example, he brought together a 40-voice ensemble of singers from Roberts Park, St. John United Church of Christ in Indianapolis, St. Bartholomew Catholic Church in Columbus, and Fairview Presbyterian Church in Columbus to perform Rossini's Stabat Mater at Roberts Park, with pianist Charles Manning and a chamber ensemble.
Music scholarships, including the Gillooly Scholarship, support students who sing or play with the program. A Bell Choir also meets regularly under the leadership of longtime members.
Children: Messy Church and Worship & Wonder
Worship & Wonder is the children's offering during Sunday morning worship. After the opening hymn, children gather with teachers outside the sanctuary for an age-appropriate exploration of the day's story. The program is designed for children of all ages, and parents are welcome to join.
Messy Church meets four to six times a year on Wednesdays from 4 to 5:30 p.m. in Fellowship Hall. Designed for parents and children together, each gathering pairs crafts, games, and hands-on activities with an interactive Bible story, music, prayer, and a shared communal meal. Recent themes have included Kindness, Earth Day, Day and Night, Noah's Ark, and Christmas.
Midweek Rhythms: Food for Thought, Hook and Needle, and the Book Club
Food for Thought meets every Wednesday from noon to 1 p.m. for a free lunch and a conversation about a topic of the week, always with a look at how God guides the times. The gathering is open to all and welcomes drop-ins. Past series have included a multi-week look at the origins of the Bible led by biblical scholar Dr. Deborah Saxon of the Center for Interfaith Cooperation.
The Hook and Needle Club gathers at 1 p.m. on the first and third Thursdays in Fellowship Hall. Knitters and crocheters of every experience level make hats, blankets, and other items for community service projects, and conversation flows as steadily as the yarn.
The Book Club meets on the second Tuesday of each month at 6:30 p.m. in the Parlor, gathering members and community friends around popular literature and nonfiction. The 2026 reading list includes works by Alan Lightman, David Benioff, Patrick Bringley, Helen Simonson, Percival Everett, Chris Bohjalian, Ruta Sepetys, Kaveh Akbar, Francesca Giannone, Fredrik Backman, Thomas Schlesser, and Clare Pooley, with the January 2027 pick being Jan Karon's At Home in Mitford.
Recovery at the Corner
Roberts Park opens its doors to four regular recovery meetings each week, in keeping with the congregation's long practice of supporting the unhoused and food insecure.
- Alcoholics Anonymous meets on Mondays at 6:15 p.m. in the basement.
- The Mankind Project meets on Mondays at 7 p.m. in the chapel.
- Crystal Meth Anonymous meets on Tuesdays at 7 p.m. in the chapel.
- Narcotics Anonymous meets on Thursdays at 6:15 p.m. in the basement.
The congregation also refers neighbors to additional Narcotics Anonymous meetings at Central Christian Church one block north, and to partner organizations including the Coalition for Homelessness Intervention and Prevention (CHIP), Horizon House, Laundry & More, the Indiana SNAP program, and Lyft ride credits to grocery stores through the FEEDINDY code.
A Reconciling Congregation
Roberts Park became a Reconciling congregation in 2019, formally welcoming people of all sexual orientations and gender identities into the full life of the church. The church's welcome extends to anyone who is lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, queer, questioning, intersex, asexual, nonbinary, or part of the broader LGBTQ+ community. Worship, communion, leadership, and fellowship are open without condition.
Senior Pastor Rev. Dr. Dr. Andrew Scanlan-Holmes has written in the weekly Midweek Missives newsletter that the welcome at Roberts Park is a deliberate practice shaped by long theological reflection, including an acknowledgment that the church has caused real harm to LGBTQ+ people over generations and a call to use words to heal rather than wound. The United Methodist General Conference voted in May 2024 to remove from the Book of Discipline language declaring the practice of homosexuality incompatible with Christian teaching, a change that took effect January 1, 2025.
Faith as Stated Here
Roberts Park is part of the United Methodist Church and the Indiana Conference of the United Methodist Church. Its doctrinal summary, drawn from historic United Methodist teaching and printed for visitors, names seven convictions.
- About God: God, who is one, is revealed in three distinct persons.
- About Salvation: The congregation believes in the mystery of salvation through Jesus Christ. God became human in Jesus whose life, death, and resurrection demonstrate God's redeeming love.
- About the Holy Spirit: The Holy Spirit is God's present activity in our midst. When one senses God's leading, God's challenge, or God's support or comfort, it is the Holy Spirit at work.
- About Our Image: Genesis 1:27 asserts that human beings are made in the image of the Creator. Like God, the congregation teaches, people have the capacity to love and care, to communicate, and to create.
- About the Church: The church is the body of Christ, an extension of Christ's life and ministry in the world today.
- About the Bible: The Bible is the primary authority for faith and practice.
- About the Kingdom of God: The kingdom or reign of God is both a present reality and a future hope.
The Pastoral Team
Senior Pastor Rev. Dr. Andrew Scanlan-Holmes came to Roberts Park in Advent 2013 from four churches in the Newcastle upon Tyne area in northeast England and was appointed Senior Pastor in July 2014. He transferred his credentials to the Indiana Conference and has been an accredited Methodist preacher for more than forty years. He holds a Doctor of Theology and Ministry from Durham University in the United Kingdom. His wife Carolyn leads The Garden Community UMC.
Mary Dicken serves as Deacon in Residence. She earned a Bachelor of Music from Miami University, a Master of Music from the University of Cincinnati College-Conservatory of Music, completed the Graduate Theological Studies Program at Garrett-Evangelical Theological Seminary, and completed Clinical Pastoral Education at Deaconess Hospital in Evansville. She is Principal Harp of the Owensboro Symphony and Evansville Philharmonic Orchestras.
Jarrett Hill joined Roberts Park as Executive Director. A Beech Grove native and 2003 graduate of the IU Indianapolis Kelley School of Business, he came to the role after careers in the student loan, financial, and banking industries and a long record of volunteer leadership with Gleaners Food Bank, Habitat for Humanity, the Indianapolis Neighborhood Housing Partnership, Keep Indianapolis Beautiful, and several Masonic bodies. He and his wife Noel were married at Roberts Park in March 2018.
Dr. Shederick Whipple directs the music program. A tenor who has sung throughout the United States, Europe, and South America, he also serves as Senior Development Officer and Assistant Chorus Director of the Indianapolis Opera and holds degrees from Mercer University, the University of Kentucky, and the Cleveland Institute of Music.
Lisa Cooper-Ankney directs Shalom Daycare. A lifelong Indianapolis resident, she joined the program after years of parenting and program work and brings a deep knowledge of the children and families the daycare serves.
What to Expect When You Visit
Visitors arriving for Sunday worship will find the church's parking lot at 214 East Vermont Street, accessible from either Vermont or Alabama Street. The lot offers 95 spaces, with metered street parking widely available on surrounding blocks. Entrance is available from both Vermont Street and Delaware Street; greeters meet visitors at the door and offer a nametag. The sanctuary is on the second floor. An elevator is reached by entering at Vermont Street, turning right, and following the ramp past the stairway. The Vermont and Delaware entrances both have wheelchair ramps, and an entrance ramp leads directly into the sanctuary.
There is no dress code. Worshipers arrive in everything from jeans to suits. An easy-to-follow printed bulletin serves as the order of worship and includes announcements of upcoming events. Newcomers are invited to complete the Welcome card found with the hymnals and Bibles in the pew. The casual coffee hour that follows the service is a friendly time, and visitors are often greeted by members eager to introduce themselves.
Midweek visitors who come for Food for Thought, the Book Club, or Hook and Needle will find Fellowship Hall and the Parlor on the lower level; recovery meetings gather in the basement and chapel. Soup's On guests are welcome to walk in at noon on Sunday or 6 p.m. on Wednesday without reservation.
Weddings and the Wider Church
The sanctuary seats 450 on the main floor and 275 in the balcony, with two-story stained-glass windows on three sides and finely detailed black walnut woodwork throughout. Foyers at both Delaware and Vermont entrances feature marble tile in a classic black and white pattern with twin black walnut staircases leading up to the sanctuary floor. The chapel on the first floor seats about 50 with similar appointments. Both spaces are fully accessible. Roberts Park is within a few blocks of downtown Indianapolis hotels, restaurants, and reception venues, and is close to the Indianapolis Cultural Trail, Monument Circle, and the Canal Walk for wedding photography.
The congregation's openness extends across the wider church. The downtown location has long drawn people from across Indianapolis and beyond; the Reconciling commitment draws LGBTQ+ members and allies; the food, daycare, and recovery programs draw neighbors from the entire Mile Square; and the regular livestream on Facebook and YouTube extends worship to those who cannot be in the pew. The church's tagline, the heart of downtown, names the place and the calling together.